Moving Out: Charter Oak Place

Craig and Tanya Bell thought of themselves as big-house, backyard suburbanites until Craig accepted a work-related assignment in Germany.

Living in Dusseldorf introduced the couple to the advantages of public transportation and being able to walk to the neighborhood market or bakery. It was with that in mind that the Bells bought a Victorian townhouse on Charter Oak Place when they moved back to the United States in 2011 and settled in Hartford.

"We realized city living was the way to go," said Craig, 45, then a vice president of sales and marketing at Henkel Corp., the parent company of Loctite adhesives.

Built in 1880, the three-story Fenn-Eaton House is one of several historic brownstones on the quiet street, conceived by Samuel Colt as a residential enclave for mid-level managers at the Colt Armory. The neighborhood is perched on a hill just off Main Street and a few blocks southwest of Hartford Public Library and city hall. Once a duplex, but now subdivided into condominiums, the Bells' is the largest of the five units at just over 1,800, square-feet. The iconic blue dome of the armory can be seen from the home's third floor deck.

Craig credits Tanya, 51, with seeing the potential of the house and updating it in ways that preserve its classic features while giving it a more contemporary feel. Except for the hardwood floors, pretty much everything has been redone, he said, including a gut rehab of the kitchen and upgrades to the two full bathrooms. He and Tanya, an artist, did much of the work themselves, he said.

Craig describes his wife as a "stay-at-home renovator" and her artistic flourishes are everywhere. She did the tile work in the bathroom and most of the painting, he said.

The once-white walls are now soothing shades of green and blue and, in the living room, she used white paint and black trim to make the previously dark woodwork around the fireplace pop. A breezy mix of mid-century and older furnishings, bold fabrics and artwork brightens the otherwise stately rooms. Twelve-foot ceilings and minimal window treatments make them feel airy and big.

"It feels roomy indoors and there's a lot of space to live in because it's so open," Craig Bell said. "I like the classic woodwork. Those are the things that attracted us."

The sleek remodeled kitchen features a commercial gas range, cork floors and a new half bath. A closet in one of the renovated full bathrooms has been converted to a second floor laundry area. The improvements meld beautifully with the Victorian features of the home and even enhance them by setting them off. The grand foyer, with its massive double front doors and marble floor, looks much the same as it must have in Mark Twain's day. The brass door knobs and hardware is original, said listing agent John Balf Morgan, with Berkshire Hathaway Homes Services, as is a pair of hardwood pocket doors used to divide the living and dining rooms.

Craig said he and Tanya used the living room fireplace nightly in the colder months. And in the summer, they often pulled the dining room table onto the back deck for outdoor dinners with friends. The home is the ninth he and Tanya have owned in 22 years. Much of that time, they lived in Michigan.

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Moving Out: Charter Oak Place